1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method. In particular, the present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for reading a document and generating a preview image of the read document.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has been conventionally implemented to display thumbnail images of image files on a display in order to specify or confirm an image file. A large amount of information on each image file can be obtained by displaying thumbnail images on a display, more significantly than a case where a search for a file is performed based on the file name, title name, or file number of the file. Therefore, a file search can be performed quickly. In addition, operation such as previewing image data obtained by scanning or receiving from another apparatus before outputting the image data to confirm the contents, direction, and the like thereof can be performed.
However, although an increase in thumbnail images causes an increase in the amount of information on image files, the increase in thumbnail images also makes it difficult to specify a desired image from among the thumbnail images. In particular, since it is not possible to display many images at once on a preview screen, it is difficult to specify a desired image.
Consequently, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-316082 proposes an apparatus for facilitating specification of an image. Upon reading a document with an arbitrary area surrounded with a marker or the like, the apparatus detects the area surrounded with a portion having specific brightness and concentration provided by the marker or the like from the document, and thereby extracts a read image of an arbitrarily designated partial area from a read image. The apparatus attaches the extracted read image of the partial area to the read image to be transferred or stored, and to the read image to be temporarily stored for printing and the like. Specifically, the apparatus specifies a characteristic portion of the document, and attaches an image of the specified portion to the entire read image.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-072991 proposes an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for providing a thumbnail image with a pattern (i.e., shape pattern) or a color frame selected by a user to serve as a mark when performing classification, extraction, focusing, ordering, and the like for each image file. The user can classify or identify a thumbnail image based on the frame.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-052496 proposes an image displaying apparatus and an image displaying method for generating list display with high visibility by analyzing a structure of an input image, dividing the input image into partial images such that each partial image is comprehensible, and arranging the partial images, in order to allow a user to understand the contents of a document from the list display of images such as thumbnails.